1. The EL Education logo should be the first slide of all presentations
The EL Education logo should be the first slide of all presentations. Please do not alter or adjust the logo in any way.

2. Using Continuous Improvement to Support All Students in Crew:
How one EL Education school used inquiry cycles to serve marginalized learners
Nora Krings, Megan Hall, Alison Lee, and Meg Riordan
Meg: welcome people into the room
Title slide headline is 60 pt Calibri; subheadline (if needed) is 36 pt Calibri, bolded.

3. Opening: Shipwreck! Captain’s coming Swab the deck Lighthouse
Person overboard
Row to shore
Suppertime
Lighthouse (2): Share a club or group where you really felt like you belonged.
Person overboard (3): Share a highlight from your first day of the conference.
Row to shore (4): Describe your school. Do you have Crew?
Gather in the galley (5): What structures does your school have to nurture students’ sense of belonging?

4. Crew Culture

5. Agenda Review Learning Targets What is Continuous Improvement?
What is the BELE Equity Through Crew project?
Gallery Walk
Case Study: Open World Learning
Working Session: Transfer and Apply!
You will need to follow along to access links:
Meg

6. Learning Targets
I can describe what continuous improvement is and how it can drive Crew as an engine for equity.
I can reflect on my own school context and identify ways to transfer and apply my learning.
Meg

7. Section 2 What is Improvement Science?

8. What is Improvement Science?
Please read the 1-page document on the Six Principles of Improvement Science
One Pager
As you read, text-code and identify areas of resonance, questions, and new information
Then, turn and talk with 2-3 people or table group to lift out your thinking
Meg

9. Section 3 What is the BELE Equity Through Crew project?

10. What is the Equity Through Crew Project?
EL Education received funding to explore how to build equitable learning environments for students - particularly students of color, Special Education, ELL, and underserved students
Our premise: Crew plays a key equity role in our schools because:
it offers opportunities for all students to build community and foster a sense of belonging through authentic self exploration and sharing
provides a place for explicit character building (respect, empathy, academic self-monitoring)
Alison

11. What did the project entail?
6 Network Schools across the country: different demographics, geography, size, and socioeconomic status
Application of Improvement Science principles:
Data Collection for Root Cause Analysis
Crew Surveys on Student Belonging (2x/year)
Focus Groups
PDSA Inquiry Cycles for rapid improvement
Professional learning community: visiting partner schools
Convening the 6 schools as a network community
Alison

12. Section 4 Virtual Gallery Walk

13. Directions: Virtual Gallery Walk
5 mins: Jigsaw
identify and code for1 of the 6 Principles in your blog
Where do you see this principles play out in your blog?
How might you use these similar processes or resources?
5-7 mins: Table Groups
Share out what you noticed - where did you see your principle?
What did you want to see more of?
What questions arise for you?
Alison

14. Resources Digital PDSA sheet Crew Belonging survey OWL Data Dive
PPTs of PDSAs
Subsample of items
Notecatcher
Around the room:
school posters
EdWeek Blogs

15. Section 5 Case Study: Open World Learning

16. OWL: Case Study

17. Open World Learning Contextual information about school:
Region: Midwest
Grade Bands: 6-12 School and 6-12 Crew
Other general information:
We are a magnet school in the Saint Paul Public Schools. We are very small with about 450 kids, with approximately 2 sections per grade level.

18. Open World Learning: Demographics

19. Our Problem of Practice
Topic
Survey Item
Inquiry Question
Age Appropriateness*
Are Crew lessons right for our age?
How to manage activities that include high school seniors and 6th graders?
Lack of Trust
If you say something personal in Crew, do people keep it a secret?
How to increase trust between students so that all students feel safe to share?
Self-awareness*
Do Crew lessons help me learn more about myself? Do they help me be a better student?
How to increase more self- awareness for students?
High Expectations
Do the other students in my Crew expect me to do the best work I can?
How to teach students to hold each other accountable?
We planned to address these outcomes:
Appropriate lessons for different age groups
Students will know themselves better
In particular, we wanted to improve outcomes for these groups of students:
Middle School
High School
ELL student population on survey results = 19.3%
Actual school data =

20. Cycle 1 “Intervention” (What we did)
To address those goals, here are the practices we tried:
Practice 1
Buddy Crews
We currently have multi-age Crew (6-12th grade), but decided one day a week we would meet in “buddy Crews” consisting of only Middle School or only High School students.
Practice 2
We created school-wide Crew lessons around “know thyself”
These lessons were designed around students learning more about themselves as people AND as students (modified by age group).

21. Questions or problems to focus on
What worked?
The lessons were strong in Crews where the Crew leader or buddy Crew leader were helping to create the lessons. There were issues for some Crews where the Crew leader was not confident teaching the lesson.
How did we know? Student feedback and teacher observations showed that there was a positive impact from “buddy Crew.”
Why?
Inconsistency in Crew leader training, comfortability and experience.
What didn’t?
Dependent on specific Crews
What’s next?
Focus on Crew leader support and training through professional development, peer mentors, and observations
Student feedback: Exit tickets, SLC Presentations
Teacher observations: debriefed in PLCs

22. Things we learned about looking at data
Reference bias is a thing!
Fall generally has higher responses because students haven’t had a whole year’s worth of experiences to draw from
Higher expectations/standards because of rich Crew conversations
Time-of-year effects should be kept in mind.
Survey burnout can be difficult to navigate, especially at the end of the year
How do we talk about surveys with equity in mind?
Use an “asset-based” mindset, not a “deficit” mindset
Look at subgroups to test assumptions about serving all students equally
Follow up with student voice - how do they explain their experiences?
Are there students not taking the survey at all

23. What we’re doing now Keeping the momentum going!
Distributed the survey again
Identified areas for better supporting Crew Leaders
Professional development in staff meetings
PLC assignments
Developed Crew calendar with attached specific Crew lesson plans that are being tested in Cycle 1 this year
links to lesson plans here
Launched Project Trust, a program that empowers students to conduct youth action participatory research
Our goal is to guide their focus to Crew, using BELE survey results

26. Opening for Questions!
Questions?
15 mins

27. Section 6 Transfer and Apply: Continuous Improvement Principles

28. How can you apply these principles into your own practice?
You have work time!
Assemble into groups (preferably by school or organized by similar interests)
Four Corners (we can serve as coaches):
Identifying a Problem of Practice: Collecting / Using Survey Data in Crew with Students
School Structures to support Crew Leaders’ learning / improvement
Others: you can name a need for yourself during this time
This is the content slide, the primary type of slide that will be used in the presentation. Headline is 36 pt Calibri; subheadline is 24 pt Calibri, bold; bullet text is 24 pt Calibri

29. Closing Circle

30. Closing Circle
Identify 1 takeaway, learning, or action from this session!

31. Thank you!
OWL and EL Education

32. Please keep this slide at the end of your deck.